The proverbial streets still have love for JT. There’s so much agape for Justin Timberlake‘s new single “Suit & Tie” that Billboard predicts the single may sell as many as 400,000 downloads by the end of the tracking week on Sunday, January 20. Considering the song set the Internet ablaze only a little over 48 hours ago, it’s clear JT’s resurgence after a six year hiatus from music was absolutely long overdue. Read more…

After tricking us with a Twitter stunt last week, Justin Timberlake dropped his latest musical offering just before midnight on Monday, catching the lingering Golden Globes crowd on Twitter just in time to launch an onslaught of mixed reactions about his decision to make music his priority once again. Like Destiny’s Child‘s latest song “Nuclear”, Timberlake’s new song “Suit and Tie” didn’t instantly grab us and transport us to a world of magical Timbaland beats and inventive blends of pop, R&B and soul, but it is a welcomed return filled with slick grooves and familiar musings on style, sex and having a good time.

Exciting news! Those prayer circles you’ve held and the many vision boards you’ve been working on for the past seven years have finally paid off: Justin Timberlake is releasing music! Of his own! Without any ties to MySpace! (We hope.) Pause for reflection, brief celebration and be sure to clear your schedule for the next three hours of so. The new song is dropping at 12:01 p.m. ESTtoday and you’ll clearly need a few minutes to dry your happy tears and think about what this all means.

For those who need a refresher, this is the first solo material from Timberlake since his 2006 sophomore album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, released back in a time when iPhones had yet to be invented and our minds hadn’t been cluttered by the terms “Kardashian” or “YOLO.” We’ve been teased before, but this time it sounds legit: the infrequent Twitter user posted an ominous update on Wednesday night (“Thursday, January 10th, 2013 at 9:01 am PST… “) stirring speculation that something big was on its way in just a few hours.

Her name created enough buzz in 2012 for Rita Ora to make our Music’s Biggest Breakout Stars of 2012 list. But according to Jay-Z‘s British protege, 2013 is going to be her year. In an interview with MTV she is seemingly excited about the U.S. release of her debut Ora. “2013 is really important for me because it’s gonna to be the first time the U.S. hears my official album and I wanted to put a few extra tracks on there and make it really special,” she told MTV. “So I’m basically giving you guys a whole new album of new material.” Read more…

When it comes to creating a soundtrack to a classic such as The Great Gasby one must call on an artist with a level of musical genius. Director Baz Luhrmann already featured Watch The Throne’s “No Church in the Wild” and listened to Jay-Z on-set as motivation. The next step then doesn’t seem as much of a shock. Rumors sparked that Lady Gaga and Prince would contribute to the project’s soundtrack, but no other information had been confirmed. That was until a tweet from producer Jeymes Samuel of The Bullitts. Read more…

Happy New Year! While we were out celebrating, many musicians hit stages across the country to help ring in 2013 in grand style. Let’s relive the magic of the eve with a few of our favorite performances:

Taylor Swift rang in the new year in Times Square, wearing a glittering red moto-jacket and black leather pants, and with just a dash of trouble. A very hyped up version of “I Knew You Were Trouble,” her new single and her foray into dub-step, that is. The chorus’ much ballyhooed about wubb-wubbs were dialed all the way up for the occasion, and matched with some impressive pyrotechnics. There was also a little calypso added to the second verse, because why not? Then she transitioned into “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” not a beat missed and the cute “this is exhausting” skit and all. And of course she and her new beau, One Direction‘s Harry Styles, sealed the night with a kiss. Aww!

It’s a good year when a video of the leader of the free world singing Al Green‘s “Let’s Stay Together” is uploaded to YouTube. President Obama’s very good Al Green attempt wasn’t the only video that had us clicking. Strange things happen when cell phones with video recorders meet the Internet. And this is why we’re most thankful to the almighty YouTube gods.

It’s been one hell of a year for online sensations. Going viral isn’t a prerequisite to making our list of the year’s best online videos. It’s not about the number of Internet scavengers who viewed a whacky video (although it’s a pretty good indicator of how great a phenomena it is). Whatever made us laugh until our bellies ached, smile so hard while thinking, ‘How cuuuute!’ or made us hit the replay button more than once, it made the list. From Jay-Z explaining who he was to an elderly woman on the subway to a grandma dancing to Tyga‘s “Rack City,” we loved it all.

A little holiday cheer is needed between Philly rappers Meek Mill and Cassidy. The eggnog is still chilling in the fridge from Christmas, but that didn’t stop the Twitter beef and diss records from dropping. Hip-hop battles take no days off. From what we can gather the feud is merely a battle over the old (Cassidy) vs. the new (Meek Mill) taking the former’s spot. Because God forbid two rappers from the same city be on top. Read more…

2012 was the year of being or getting #turntup. Crunk songs encouraging partying, drinking and the good life were the soundtrack to turning up. French Montana‘s “Pop That” instructed women on how to, err, pop their booties at a party or club. It easily was one of the summer’s most popular anthems. In the same vein was Juicy J‘s “Bands A Make Her Dance” which suggests rolls of money secured by a rubber band will indeed make a girl dance. Not that we frequented the strip club or anything, but word on the street is strippers made this their unofficial theme song.

Other crunk songs had less to do with booty popping or stripping and more to do with intimacy–straight grown and sexy style. Take for instance Kelly Rowland‘s “Motivation” that inspired a body roll whether you were at your desk at work or in your car at a red light. Fun.‘s “We Are Young” isn’t your typical crunk song, however, if the DJ played this song at a party you witnessed the crowd going wild. So without further ado, here’s 16 of the year’s crunkest songs. Shout out to the artists for enabling our turned up ways. Read more…

The critical acclaim the Compton newcomer has received from good kid, m.A.A.d city has Kendrick Lamar gassed. He lived up to the hype and delivered one of the year’s best albums, thus his confidence is understandably high. It’s level of highness has him thinking he can spar with Nas and Jay-Z in the studio. GQ’s Mark Anthony Green profiled the 25-year-old rapper and here’s what we learned:

Kendrick’s dad never got back his dominoes.

All the scenarios in GKMC are real, and actually took place in one day.

Sherane is a real person. In case you were wondering, her name’s not Sherane. “Hopefully she’s doing good, you know, but karma is a bitch.” Read more…